Chapter 39: Chosen, Chapter 38: How You Like Me Now?

Aidan

The Realms

Thirdday, 4th week of the 7th month, Godless Age 597

Afternoon

Starchaser village, Mistvale Highlands

"Now, the Eastern Empire is an entirely different story; they lasted for another thousand years before they were finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks." Aidan let out a sigh as he finished.

He didn't go into incredible detail, for the most part, but it still took him several hours to get from Romulus and Remus to Odoacer. Ailis listened attentively through the whole lecture, suffering through Aidan's rough start without complaint and asking insightful questions periodically. She favored him with a brilliant smile and said, "Thank you, Aidan. I gained two percent progress in Foreign History with that." Aidan groaned internally, and Ailis must have noticed something because she added, "No, no, that is excellent! My affinity for Foreign History is so low now that I could go through an entire library and not gain a level in it. Two percent in a handful of hours is beyond what I hoped to get out of this exchange. I am more than pleased. I will tell you what you want to know and add a lesson on Beast Magic as well."

Relief filled Aidan; he could certainly keep going on other subjects, but he had underestimated how much time it took. If Ailis made him give a lesson like that for every tidbit of knowledge, it would have taken days, maybe even weeks.

"I suggest you start with Fionn," Ailis continued. "As long as you do not act the complete fool, I expect Gerwyn will vote for you regardless, and you already have my vote; Anwn has already voted against you, and Eilwen is leaning that way. That makes Fionn's abstention your best initial target because it will ensure you have a majority. You can attempt to change Eilwen's and Anwn's minds then from a position of strength." She took a sip of tea—the third kettle of the day—then paused to consider a moment.

"Fionn is practical above all else. He goes along with all the politics because it is expected of him, and he takes some small enjoyment from it, but he will welcome a direct approach. Do not be mercenary about it, but if you tell him that you want to join the tribe permanently and ask him what his concerns are, he will answer you. You can then address them as you see fit, either debating him or doing something material to ease his mind. To stay on his good side, all you need to do is be yourself, I think. He values competence, steadfastness, and quick thinking in a crisis. You have already demonstrated all of those qualities, and I have no reason to think that will change.

"Eilwen can be difficult. She is old and was set in her ways before you were born. There has not been a non-Centaur Starchaser for centuries, which, to her, means that now is not a good time to start. That said, she has a soft heart for children and families—no surprise, given her own large family—so if you take Brighid along with you and the two of you are your usual sickly-sweet selves, she may relax her stance somewhat." Her eyes twinkled in mirth while she teased him. "Also, compliment her on whatever she feeds you. Do not overdo it, but Eilwen is rightfully proud of her Cooking Skill, and a little flattery will go a long way. Long-term, be respectful of her and keep as close as you can to Starchaser traditions. The more trouble there is around you, whether you cause it or not, the less happy she will be.

"Gerwyn will be easy. He has been pushing to ease the restrictions on outsiders since before I joined the Council. Your arrival has played right into his hands; he will be your champion so long as you do not force him to act otherwise."

Aidan took the opportunity presented by a natural pause in Ailis's speech to ask, "If he is already decided, as you say, why did Gerwyn vote Delay the other night?"

"Politics, of course," was Ailis's answer. "He cannot seem too eager, and Anwn's argument was sound; agreeing with her, even temporarily, gives him political capital for the future. It is also entirely possible that he did it for your benefit; delaying the vote gives you more time to woo the other Councillors and integrate with the tribe." Aidan nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Staying on his good side should be similarly easy. He is a good-humored sort to start with, and you are his type."

"His type?" Aidan asked, confused.

"Yes. Gerwyn favors the company of men—especially young, virile men." Ailis smirked at his blush. "He will not proposition you if you do not show signs of being receptive, but he will be naturally inclined towards liking you. As long as you can handle some slightly heavy-handed flirting, you will not have any problem maintaining a friendship with our chief trader."

"And Anwn?" Aidan asked, as much to change the subject as anything else.

Ailis sighed. "Anwn will be a problem. If you were not opposed to blackmail, it could be managed, but I do not see how you will convince her to change her mind before the vote. It is not that she hates you; she does not. I am not convinced that she experiences emotions like the rest of us. The problem with Anwn is that she is not comfortable interacting with other people. She does not live in the village; she only enters for Council meetings, and she almost always leaves immediately after they are over. She is not a bad person, she is just bad at being a person, if you understand what I mean."

Aidan nodded, considering. "I wonder... No, nevermind, it would be better if I did not speculate without talking to her first."

Ailis eyed him critically. "Hmmm. Well, regardless, I do not believe that you will be able to turn Anwn's Nay into an Aye, not in the time you have. Perhaps, with persistence and care, you might be able to become her friend. For what it is worth, I do not know that anyone has actually tried that; she avoids people when she can, and other men are only interested in her for three things." At his curious look, Ailis cupped her breasts and swished her tail. "Two in the front and one in the rear." Again he blushed, drawing a chuckle from his host. "If you show genuine interest in being her friend, it is possible that she will eventually reciprocate. I would not place any bets on it, however."

"Until then, she's not my enemy, she's just reacting to what she sees as a disruption to her life."

"Yes, I think that is accurate." Ailis agreed. "Are you satisfied with the first part of your payment?"

"Yes, thank you. You have given me the foundation I asked for."

"Then let us move on to the second part, Beast Magic. What do you know of it, if anything?"

Aidan shook his head. "Very little. It is one of the so-called common schools and involves animals, but other than that, I'm in the dark."

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Ailis nodded. "Beast Magic draws out, enhances, suppresses, or alters the inner animal in living, animate beings. In many cases, the inner animal is the same as the actual creature, so Beast Magic also allows for the partial or complete transformation of one creature into another. It can also alter the way they act or think; the Serenity spell I used on you is Beast Magic. The pinnacle of the school is the creation of new life, either through the fusion of multiple animals together or true Origination.

"A valuable life lesson from learning Beast Magic is that people are animals, too. There is only a thin line that separates us from our livestock, and the magic does not make any distinction. Sapience is merely a result of higher Attributes, not a fundamental difference between us and beasts. Beast Magic will not work on Gargoyles, Golems, Undead, or other magically-animated unliving beings, nor will it function on plant-based creatures, but those are the only restrictions."

Ailis lectured on the fundamentals of her craft, even going into the history and legends of Beast Magic. When she discovered his lack of Skill in Magical Theory, she expanded her lesson to include that as well, incidentally answering questions he had about the nature of magic.

"The verbal and somatic components of spells are unique to each individual mage; no two people cast the same spell in the same manner. I suspect you have wondered why your language-comprehension Trait does not translate the verbal component of magic? That is because the words are meaningless; they are merely a way for the mind to focus on gathering and shaping manna. The same is true of the somatic component, the hand gestures. With sufficient Skill and practice, it is possible to cast spells without needing to use gestures or words. Conversely, it is possible to enhance or alter the effects of magic by changing the gestures and words you use. Allow me to demonstrate; I will repeat the same spell three times. First, I will cast it normally, then I will Invoke it without components, then I will use Glyphs and Incantations to enhance the effects. Observe."

Once he signaled his acceptance, Ailis cast a spell on him; after a brief sensation of nausea and disorientation, he blinked his eyes and realized that his vision was vastly sharper. He could make out the individual threads on her shirt and even see tiny flecks of pale flesh between them. Ailis let her concentration lapse, causing another brief stint of disorientation as Aidan's senses returned to normal. Then, she closed her eyes briefly and breathed in sharply. A heartbeat later, Aidan's enhanced sight returned, precisely the same as it had been previously. The silver-haired mage left the effect on him for a moment, then allowed it to fade again.

Finally, Ailis began to draw glowing brown lines in the air with her fingers, forming increasingly complex geometric patterns in several layers, and chanted in Highlands Gallic, "O proud eagle, lord of the sky, lend me your sight. O magnificent owl, night's silent assassin, lend me your hearing. O loyal wolf, whose hunts never fail, lend me your olfaction. O great spirits, heed my call, grant these boons!" This time, not only were Aidan's eyes enhanced, so were his hearing and sense of smell—and to such a degree that he was overwhelmed with the new stimuli. The hairs on his arm seemed like trees emerging from craterous pores; conversations happening down the street were as clear as if he was taking part in them; he could smell a hundred distinct scents wafting through the air of the small house. Mercifully, Ailis only maintained her spell for a few seconds before letting it lapse and asking Aidan for his observations.

He shook his head to clear it, then considered a moment before responding. "The second version was much quicker and did not seem to lose any effectiveness compared to the first. The third was significantly longer, but not only did you improve three of my senses instead of one, but the magnitude of the effect was higher as well."

"Good, so far as it goes. Did you manage to observe the flows of manna?"

Aidan shook his head. "Not beyond the obvious manifestations, the aura and...Glyphs, did you call them?"

"Not unexpected for a self-taught mage. Formal magical education usually starts with sensing manna, but at least you do not have many bad habits to unlearn yet. Let us start with that, then."

It took half an hour of patient repetition before Aidan finally was able to get a sense of what his teacher was talking about. As she gestured, he felt a tiny swell of something gathering around her. Her hands, aided by her chanting, took that energy and shaped it into a form that Ailis could use. Once the manna construct was formed correctly and filled with energy, she released it upon him, enhancing his senses.

"I think I have it," Aidan said. "May I?"

Ailis nodded, so Aidan gathered his will and cast his new spell on her. He kept it simple, giving her the sight of an eagle just as she had done for him. A couple of seconds later, a bright smile bloomed on Ailis's face.

"Well done, apprentice! Fire, Life, and Beast; an unusual combination. Please forgive my boldness, but my curiosity overwhelms me: what are your affinities?"

The question gave him pause. For one, it was a rather personal question, according to Brighid. More importantly, he could not tell Ailis the truth; she was intelligent and cunning enough to draw unfortunate, and correct, conclusions if she knew he had 100% affinity in all three schools. Still, he suspected that outright lying to her would not be advisable.

"Fairly high. Pardon, but I do not feel comfortable sharing the exact numbers."

"No, no, I should not have asked. Forgive me." She waved off his apology, still beaming. "This is excellent news. You already had my vote in the Council, but I believe I will now exert a little pressure of my own on the others. Do I have your permission to share this news with the Council? You can appeal to sentiment, and I will appeal to practicality. A new three-school mage with no affiliations is not an asset we should casually discard."

Aidan frowned, a burst of anger running through him. "You forget yourself, Lady Councillor. I am not a tool for you to use or discard. I thank you for the information and instruction, but if this is how you view me, then I see no benefit in becoming your apprentice or accepting any further aid with the Council."

Ailis froze. Her cheeks burned red and her eyes narrowed angrily at his initial words, but as he continued to speak, the blood drained from her face and she cast her eyes downward. "You— I—" She inhaled a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I did forget myself. Again I owe you my apologies. A decade of thoughts have become habits, but that is no excuse. I need to be better. Please, bear with me, give me time to change. If nothing else, if you are nearby, you can correct me like this when I slip."

Aidan arched one eyebrow. "It almost sounds like you are proposing to be my apprentice in acting like a person with empathy for others."

The flush returned to Ailis's cheeks, but there was a note of challenge in her blue eyes when she raised them again. "I am not my daughter; I call no one 'Master'."

"Neither does she; she prefers 'Sir'," he replied, letting steel creep into his voice. "She treats me, and everyone else, with the same respect they give her. Perhaps it is time that you humbled yourself. Climb down from your," he almost said 'high horse' but saw the problem at the last moment and changed to, "throne and join us commonfolk for once. A little mud on that pristine ivory fur of yours would go a long way towards reminding you that we're all in this together."

He rose, looking down at Ailis, seeing his rebuke strike home. "You are a far more experienced politician than I; if you see an advantage in revealing my capabilities to your peers, I will not stand in your way. Your attitude, however, does you no favors. I will discuss this with Brighid and consider your offer of an apprenticeship. I have very little tolerance for being used, though. There will need to be mutual respect for it to work, and every relapse jeopardizes that from both ends." He paused a moment, then gave her a shallow bow. "Thank you for the instruction and the offer. I will let you know my response after the Council decides my fate."

Aidan turned his back on the stunned centaur and made his exit.

Zurai

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